‘Deploying a sweeper is copping out’
AS one of the most accomplished corner-backs to grace the game and someone who thrived on the personal battle with a forward, it is hardly surprising that Jackie Tyrrell has an issue with the presence of a ‘seventh man’ in defence, but the Kilkenny legend believes the sweeper system in hurling is affecting the overall quality of defending.
Kilkenny travel to Wexford Park tomorrow evening, knowing that one of their main tasks will be to counteract Shaun Murphy’s effectiveness as a sweeper, a role he has excelled in since Davy Fitzgerald took over. Tyrrell, though, would prefer if that particular role was outlawed and teams went back to basics.
‘It drives me mad,’ he says of the role. ‘I was a defender and I think defending is such a skill and such an art and a sweeper lets defenders get away with murder in some cases. It takes the real risk out of it. I remember going for balls thinking “if I miss this, it could be a goal”. There was a lovely edginess about that.
‘But there’s nothing as bad as a ball getting cleared down the line and you see a sweeper collecting it. It is killing atmospheres at games because a ball is cleared up the field and next thing, there’s a lad waiting for it and he clears it back. I find that crowds aren’t engaging and can’t get engaged.
‘Remember when Kilkenny played Tipp in the League, and there was that epic few minutes in the second half, where they had a chance and we had a chance, the ball wouldn’t go out. That doesn’t happen with a sweeper because it would have just killed momentum and killed the supporters’ chance to engage in a game.
‘As a defender, I think a sweeper is an easy cop out. And it is taking the art of man-on-man defending out of the game, because defenders have the security net of a guy behind you,’ Tyrrell maintained.
However, the nine-time All-Ireland winner did accept that when teams are in a stage of development, as Wexford were with Fitzgerald earlier this year, then there is a place for a sweeper.
‘I do accept there is a role for it in terms of developing a team and their confidence. But I would look at Waterford now, for example, and I would hope that they don’t play a sweeper, that they just go for it. It has brought them to a stage where they developed players. Now let’s have a go.’
As for tomorrow’s Leinster semifinal, Tyrrell believes Kilkenny’s dented pride, following their Allicentral anz League quarter-final defeat, should see Brian Cody’s side over the line.
‘I do think Kilkenny will win. I think that Brian will have learned an awful lot from the League quarter-final. They will be disciplined and they will bounce back,’ Tyrrell suggested, although he does accept question marks hang over Kilkenny’s two defensive positions.
Tyrrell wants to see Cillian Buckley at centre-back and Kieran Joyce behind him at fullback. ‘We [James Stephens] played Dicksboro recently and Cillian was centre-back and I would love to see him centre-back for Kilkenny.
‘He’s a very good centre-back, very athletic. And I would have maybe Kieran Joyce at full-back. There are two big question marks for Kilkenny, but maybe they would work.’
Tyrrell worked with Fitzgerald at Limerick IT but he doesn’t think his absence from the sideline will affect Wexford, apart from firing up the Slaneysiders.
‘I think the suspension might actually feed into everything with Wexford. It will be us against the world, that’s the sort of stuff that Davy likes to manipulate and turn it around. So I don’t think Davy’s suspension will affect them. He will have his microphone in and be able to get his messages down to [backroom assistant] Seoirse Bulfin.’